Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine.” I waved a hand. “I’m at this cabin in Sage Hill. The cell service is terrible.”
“Really? I didn’t know you’d be traveling. Didn’t you say you had a big article to turn in?”
“I do.” I sighed. “But I had to deviate a bit.”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “So, you just need a getaway then?”
“I wish it was a getaway,” I said, finding the stairs to the dock. “I’m looking for Eve. I booked this cottage hoping to figure out where she is or what she might be up to but—” I waved it off again. “I don’t know. It’s stupid. She’s not here. If she doesn’t want to answer her phone, then whatever, you know? I shouldn’t be putting so much effort into finding a grown woman.”
“Yeah,” he said before going quiet. For a second, I thought I’d turned him away with my mini rant. “But that’s not like you. Forgetting about your friends. That isn’t the Rose I know.”
“You’ve only known me for a couple of months.” I laughed, feeling heat coil in my belly. I cleared my throat, forcing my body to rinse the feeling away. The last time I felt like this was when I met Cole. Now look at us.
“They’ve been an amazing couple of months though,” Jayson said. “What can I say?”
I laughed again.
“I was hoping to see you today, sit at the end of your couch and rub your feet while you bang out some words on your keyboard. Maybe even bang you afterwards.”
I threw my head back to laugh. “Smooth, Jayson. Real smooth.”
“You know me.”
I caged my bottom lip between my teeth, studying the lake. I was going to spend the next two nights here. Alone. If Eve wasn’t here, there was no point in staying in Twilight Oaks by myself. Plenty of space. Lots of counters. A plush bed. And it would probably help to be in a quiet place to get my article written up.
“Why don’t you join me?” I suggested, my heart beating faster. “Sage Hill is only two hours away. There’s lots of room in the place I’m renting. I’m having some groceries delivered. . .” I let the sentence fall short, waiting to see what he’d say.
That was the thing with Jayson. We weren’t supposed to get too serious. We’d agreed early on that sex was the focus. It would be the thing we sought each other out for to scratch that itch.
He’d just gotten out of a toxic relationship a year prior and . . . well, we knew my situation. Committing to anyone else was not in the cards for us at the moment.
However, a cozy cottage on a lake, just the two of us, sounded extremely romantic—like, next level romantic. I wouldn’t have blamed him for making an excuse.
But to my surprise, he said, “Sure. Shoot me the address.”
Once again, I grinned as I felt that naughty tug in my belly.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I met Jayson Daniels on a rainy night in his bar called The Drop. I’d decided to do a casual piece for my boss on the best places to stop for a drink while in Charlotte and his bar was number three on the list.
That night, he served me the best cocktails to taste-test. I didn’t miss the way his eyes connected with mine as he poured the liquor. Or the way he licked his bottom lip and held my gaze as he mixed everything together. The way he teased and joked, shooting his game, was flattering.
That same night, he led me to his office to conduct the interview in a “quieter” space. Before I knew it, my knees were parted and he was between my thighs, his tongue colliding with mine and my fingers threading through his dreads. I like to blame it on the drinks, but truth of the matter is I wanted him—pure and simple.
Jayson was unlike any man I’d ever met. He could be greedy but not selfish. Dominant but never overdid it. He made my toes curl the first time we had sex in an uptown hotel, and things hadn’t been the same since. To put it simply, being separated from a cheating husband wasn’t so intolerable with a snack like Jayson around. How we acted in that hotel the first night was exactly how we were now. My ass planted on the dining table, panties removed, his boxers lowered so he could bury himself deeper inside me.
As soon as I swung the door open when he arrived, he cupped my face in his large hands and kissed me. Passionately. Thoroughly. And with our lips still locked, he shut the door and picked me up to place me on the dining table. I mentally apologized to Alex Reed and any other person who had to eat at that table because we didn’t care about the mess we made or what might get broken in the process.